The PAV BHAJI!

Well well.... what should I say about this PAV bhAJI.... I have spent a life time eating it LOLZ hahahahahaha.

The small filling and spicy dish and ofcourse in budget always .... hehehehahahahha LOLZ

The origin of this dish is traced to the heyday of the textile mills in Mumbai. The mill workers used to have lunch breaks too short for a full meal, and a light lunch was preferred to a heavy one, as the employees had to return to physical labor after lunch. A vendor created this dish using items or parts of other dishes available on the menu. Roti or rice was replaced with pav and the curries that usually go with Indian bread or rice were amalgamated into just one spicy concoction-the 'bhaji'. Initially, it remained the food of the mill-workers. The dish found its way into restaurants and spread over Central Mumbai and other areas. Such is popularity of this dish, that it is common to find it on the menu of most Indian restaurants serving fast food in Asia (especially Singapore, Hong Kong), America, UK (London), Switzerland and elsewhere.

To make bhaji, potatoes are mashed on a flat pan called a tava, and made into a thick gravy after adding diced tomatoes, finely grilled onions, green peas, capsicums (green pepper) and other vegetables like cauliflower. A special blend of spices called the pav bhaji masala is added to this thick gravy. The gravy is then allowed to simmer on the pan for a few minutes and is served hot in a flat dish with a tablespoon of butter on top.

The pav (bread) is roasted on the same pan with an ample amount of butter and masala. The Bhaji is garnished with diced onion and a slice of lemon and served with the pav.

In restaurants some more varieties are available including Cheese Pav Bhaji with added cheese on top, Paneer Pav Bhaji with added paneer (cottage cheese), Mushroom Pav Bhaji, Khada Pav Bhaji(vegetables not mashed, but small pieces cooked with masala), and Dryfruit Pav Bhaji with added dryfruits, Jain Pav Bhaji (mostly in Gujarat) replacing the potato with unripe bananas, as Jains do not eat any food which is grown underground.

THE WADA PAV!

Welcome to the very first post of MUMBAI EATERY!




Well there is so much to start with.... about Mumbai.... its history....and blah blah blah blah....but when you are on job and have no time to for anyone and also short on cash.... you really have to eat something becoz you are HUNGRY and have no time to wait. What are you gonna do then.... the best ever thing you must never forget to eat in Mumbai is the Wada Pav!

Almost the staple food of all the Mumbaikars....

The potatoes are mashed or diced, made into patties, coated and mixed with green chilies, ginger and a phodani (tempering) of mustard seeds and turmeric. These balls are then dipped in an herb-seasoned batter made with gram flour, then it is deep-fried. The finished vada is then placed between the halves of a small bun called a pav, a word borrowed for a bun borrowed by Marathi from the Portuguese pão (lit., "bread") served with condiments such as various chutneys, red chili powder or green chilis (sometimes fried and salted). The chutneys are often made of coconut, tamarind pulp or garlic.

The Vada Pav is considered staple teatime snack in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, where it has been popularized as street food. Vada Pav is available on hand carts, popularly known as Vada Pav chi gadi. They are seen everywhere in Maharashtra and also served at tea time in many of the state's small eateries and on long distance trains.